Excel for Beginners Course: Entering, editing and formatting data

1. Question 1 of 16

   You type a value in a cell. Which key confirms it and moves down to the next cell?

   • ATab
   • BEsc
   • CEnter
   • DF4
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Enter

   Enter confirms the entry and, by default, moves the selection down one cell.

2. Question 2 of 16

   You type a name in A2 and want to move right to B2 to keep typing on the same row. Which key do you press?

   • ATab
   • BF2
   • CEsc
   • DEnter
   Show answer

   Answer: A. Tab

   Tab confirms the entry and moves one cell to the right.

3. Question 3 of 16

   Which key puts the selected cell into Edit mode so you can change part of its contents?

   • AF2
   • BEsc
   • CF11
   • DF4
   Show answer

   Answer: A. F2

   Press F2, double-click the cell, or click in the formula bar to edit a cell's contents.

4. Question 4 of 16

   You are part-way through editing a cell and want to cancel your changes. What should you press?

   • ATab
   • BEnter
   • CEsc
   • DCtrl+Enter
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Esc

   Esc cancels the edits you made before you pressed Enter or Tab.

5. Question 5 of 16

   How do you start a new line of text inside the same cell?

   • APress Shift+Tab while editing the cell
   • BPress Alt+Enter while editing the cell
   • CPress Enter twice while typing
   • DPress Ctrl+D while editing the cell
   Show answer

   Answer: B. Press Alt+Enter while editing the cell

   Alt+Enter adds a line break at the cursor. Enter on its own just confirms the cell.

6. Question 6 of 16

   You select cells B2:B10, type "Day" and want it to appear in every selected cell at once. Which keys do you press?

   • AShift+Tab
   • BCtrl+Z
   • CCtrl+Enter
   • DAlt+Enter
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Ctrl+Enter

   Ctrl+Enter enters the same data in all the selected cells. The cells don't even have to be next to each other.

7. Question 7 of 16

   Which keyboard shortcut enters today's date in the active cell?

   • ACtrl+1
   • BCtrl+;
   • CCtrl+N
   • DAlt+=
   Show answer

   Answer: B. Ctrl+;

   Ctrl+; (semicolon) enters the current date. Ctrl+1 opens Format Cells and Alt+= is AutoSum.

8. Question 8 of 16

   A cell that should show a total shows ##### instead. What is the most likely cause?

   • AThe cell is formatted as Text instead of Number
   • BThe column is too narrow for the number
   • CThe worksheet is protected against changes
   • DThe formula refers to a cell on another sheet
   Show answer

   Answer: B. The column is too narrow for the number

   Excel shows ##### when a column is too narrow for the contents. Widen the column by dragging or double-clicking the right border of the column heading.

9. Question 9 of 16

   In the sheet below, cell B2 is formatted as Percentage with no decimal places. What does B2 show?

   	A	B
   1	Item	Discount
   2	Safety vests	0.25
   3	Hard hats	0.1

   • A0.25%
   • B25%
   • C25
   • D2.5%
   Show answer

   Answer: B. 25%

   The Percentage format multiplies the value by 100 and adds a % sign, so 0.25 shows as 25%.

10. Question 10 of 16

    Which keyboard shortcut opens the Format Cells dialog box?

    • ACtrl+F
    • BCtrl+T
    • CCtrl+1
    • DCtrl+;
    Show answer

    Answer: C. Ctrl+1

    Ctrl+1 opens Format Cells, where you can pick a number format such as Currency or Date.

11. Question 11 of 16

    Which number format lines up the currency symbols and decimal points of all numbers in a column?

    • ACurrency
    • BPercentage
    • CGeneral
    • DAccounting
    Show answer

    Answer: D. Accounting

    Accounting is for money values and lines up currency symbols and decimal points. Currency shows the symbol next to each number.

12. Question 12 of 16

    You want long notes in column D to show on several lines inside each cell and fit the column width. What do you use?

    • AView > Freeze Panes
    • BHome > Wrap Text
    • CData > Sort & Filter
    • DPage Layout > Print Titles
    Show answer

    Answer: B. Home > Wrap Text

    Wrap Text makes text fit the column width. If you change the column width, the text rewraps.

13. Question 13 of 16

    You type the employee ID 00457 into a cell that is already formatted as Text. What does the cell show?

    • A4.57E+02
    • B#####
    • C00457
    • D457
    Show answer

    Answer: C. 00457

    The Text format shows a cell's content exactly as you type it, even when it looks like a number, so the leading zeros stay.

14. Question 14 of 16

    A cell in General format holds a 13-digit tracking number. How may Excel display it?

    • AAs a percentage with a % sign
    • BAs a date in the Short Date style
    • CIn scientific notation
    • DWith a dollar sign in front
    Show answer

    Answer: C. In scientific notation

    The General format uses scientific notation for large numbers of 12 or more digits. Use the Text format for long ID numbers.

15. Question 15 of 16

    In the sheet below, B2 holds 19.756 but is formatted to show 2 decimal places, so it shows 19.76. What does =B2*2 return in a General cell?

    	A	B
    1	Item	Price
    2	Toner	19.756

    • A39.5
    • B40
    • C39.512
    • D39.52
    Show answer

    Answer: C. 39.512

    A number format changes only how a value looks. Excel calculates with the stored value, 19.756, so the result is 39.512.

16. Question 16 of 16

    Where can you see the actual value stored in a cell, even when its number format hides some decimals?

    • AIn the Name Box only
    • BIn the formula bar
    • CIn the sheet tab
    • DIn Print Preview
    Show answer

    Answer: B. In the formula bar

    The formula bar shows the real value stored in the selected cell. The cell itself shows the formatted version.

Keyboard: 1–4 to answer, Enter for the next question.